Secrets & Souls - prequel to The Soul Guide

“Bertram, wake up. It’s me, Mellissa.”

She gently shook his shoulder. Whatever the hell that creature was it could no longer hurt him now she’d sent it back to the festering darkness it had come from. There would be time later to think about what had happened and, more to the point, how she had managed to produce such a powerful weapon from her hands. It had been as much as a surprise to her as it had been to the creature. She didn’t really know what to think, other than the fact she was glad it was gone. For now, she needed to get Bertram back to the café, then home to Clayhill.

“Bertram, can you hear me?” Mellissa repeated.

He stirred under her touch. The skin around his mouth was covered in sores. There were more dotted across his cheeks and forehead as though he had caught a severe case of chicken pox. He winced as he spoke. “Mellissa? Is that really you?”

“Try not to speak, Bertram. Your mouth, its… just don’t talk, OK. We need to get you out of here. Can you stand?”

He attempted to sit up, but his arms collapsed beneath him. Mellissa chewed on her lip. She wondered where the hell Carlo had got to. She wasn’t sure she could get Bertram back to the café without him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and felt a different kind of light leak from her fingers. Her palm tingled, and she watched as a soft, white glow moved along his arm like a blanket of cloud across the sky. It felt strange, as though a part of her was being drained and re-filled all at the same time. She watched the glow move towards his face, the nearest sores to the light were closing, healing. Shocked at what she could do, she pulled her hand away quickly. Bertram cried out in pain.

“Don’t,” he croaked. But he wasn’t asking her to stop, he wanted to feel her hand on him again. She was easing his pain.

Mellissa placed her hand back on his arm and watched as the light worked its magic. It wasn’t long before the last of the sores had disappeared and a bit of colour had returned to Bertram’s face. Mellissa sat back and waited.

“Whatever it is that you just did, thank you,” Bertram said, sitting up.

“I’m not sure what just happened. I’m just glad you feel better,” Mellissa said, avoiding eye contact. She felt naked under his gaze.

“What are you doing here anyway? You shouldn’t have come,” Bertram chided. She couldn’t believe he was still thinking about her safety given what had just happened.

“That doesn’t matter now. Besides, you looked like you needed some help,” she smiled, despite herself and the horror of what had just occurred.

She didn’t think she’d ever be able to get that image of the creature, laying atop Bertram, out of her mind. When she’d stepped out of the stairwell to find Bertram cradled in the creature’s arms, its mouth open wide over Bertram’s in some twisted lovers’ embrace, she had felt a white, hot, burning rage deep within her. Only it hadn’t been kissing Bertram, it had been devouring his soul. She had seen the golden glow of Bertram’s soul funnelling into the creature’s mouth. In that moment, she had never felt hate like it, or fear.

“Mellissa, what are you doing here?”

Mellissa looked up to find Carlo rushing towards her. Behind him was a young man, no more than twenty, holding a rather limp looking arm by his side. Blood seeped from a deep gash on his bicep.

“I’m sorry. You were taking so long and I couldn’t just sit and wait around. I had no idea what I would be walking into…” her voice trailed off. The truth was, whilst she didn’t have any sort of clue that she would find a monster devouring Bertram’s soul, she did know that Bertram was in mortal danger. Their connection had opened again, not half-an-hour after they’d left. She’d felt Bertram’s fear, the anguish. It had been so strong she had doubled over from the pain of it. Had been winded by its ferocity. She hadn’t thought, she’d reacted. It was instinctual, urgent, and so she’d left Genevieve with Giuseppe, rushing out of the café in a blind panic. She hadn’t needed Genevieve’s address, all she’d had to do was follow the connection until it led her to Bertram.

“Where’s my sister? Where’s Genevieve?” the boy demanded, stepping around Carlo to address Mellissa.

“Victor, isn’t it?” Mellissa said. He remained stony faced. “She’s back at the café, with Giuseppe. I’m sorry for leaving her there alone. But, I had to come…” Mellissa said, wincing at how irresponsible that sounded now.

“You left her alone?” Victor shouted. “You stupid bloody woman.” He pushed past Carlo and ran for the stairs, the door smacking shut behind him.

Carlo looked back down at Mellissa, a strange look on his face.

“I’m sorry Carlo. I can’t explain it, I had to come.” She waited for him to shout at her too. She deserved no less.

“Why didn’t you call them? I gave you the number. They would’ve come.”

“I panicked. I’m sorry. I couldn’t think about anything else but to get here.”

Bertram was still very weak, she could see that. His soul was muted, far less bright than it had been not an hour ago. He was her priority now. She needed to get him back to the café. She needed to fix things.

“Carlo, Mellissa is stubborn, and rash, and hot-headed. She will do what she wants regardless, but if she hadn’t come I don’t think I would be alive right now. I owe her my life. More,” Bertram said.

Mellissa shrugged off his thanks. He owed her nothing. He wouldn’t have been in this situation if she had returned to Clayhill weeks ago. This was her fault.

Carlo knelt next to Bertram. “Let’s get you back to the café. Fix you up, eh? I think I have something that will help you to recover,” Carlo said, as he hooked an arm under Bertram’s armpit, indicating Mellissa should do the same. They pulled him to his feet. He stumbled slightly, but could walk, just.

“Carlo, I’m sorry,” Mellissa said from the other side of Bertram as they manoeuvred him down the corridor towards the lift. She felt inordinately relieved that Bertram was alright, but terrified that Genevieve might be in danger. She’d put lives at risk because of the rash choices she’d made.

“Don’t worry about Genevieve. She’s in the safest place and she has Giuseppe. He will not let anyone harm her. Besides, Victor will be back with her soon. That boy can run fast.”

She hoped so, because she couldn’t bear to see Gen hurt, she needed her too much.

They arrived back at the café not long after hailing a cab. Bertram was in no position to walk anywhere, let alone stand. So, they piled him onto the back seat, laughing hollowly at the cabbie’s jokes about Bertram having had ‘one too many’. Mellissa had sat with Bertram’s head in her lap and she thought, not for the first time, how close she had come to losing him. Something stirred within her, but she pushed the feeling down, unable to acknowledge what it meant.

When they entered the café, Mellissa was relieved to see Genevieve tending to her brother’s wound, Giuseppe by his side. The dog barked once then placed his head back in Victor’s lap.

“Thank goodness you’re OK,” Mellissa said as she and Carlo struggled to manoeuvre the half-asleep Bertram to the sofa. They just about managed to lay him down, the ordeal of the past hour sending him into a deep sleep the moment his head touched the cushion.

“What happened to Bertram, he looks half-dead?” Genevieve said, as she placed a marmalade looking concoction over Victor’s wound. Mellissa gave Carlo a look. He shook his head minutely.

“Nothing that needs concern you. He bumped his head, that’s all,” Victor interjected, raising his head and looking directly at Mellissa, daring her to say otherwise. She glanced at Carlo, the expression on his face telling her to just go along with it.

“Mellissa?” Genevieve said.

“That’s right,” Mellissa agreed. “Bertram managed to knock himself out. It was just as well I left to find him. Who would’ve thought that playing the hero would get him in so much trouble?” She smiled at Genevieve, tucking her shaking hands behind her back.

Victor, seemingly satisfied with her answer, focused his attention back on Genevieve. “Thanks Sis, that feels a hell of a lot better. I should’ve known better than to tackle an intruder with a knife. Stupid bloody thing to do, even for me.”

Genevieve placed her hand on his. “You thought I was home. You thought you were protecting me. I’m just glad you’re alright,” she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. “There, leave that on. This stuff of Carlo’s helps to heal most things, it’s amazing.”

“Sure,” Victor said, nodding his head, before leaning back into the chair and closing his eyes.

“Mellissa, will you come with me, please? I need help to get some linen from upstairs. Looks like we have a few to stay tonight, si?”

“Sure,” Mellissa said. Carlo wanted to talk in private. Well, it was just as well because she had a lot to say.

“I’ll get some drinks ready,” Genevieve said, as she moved behind the counter and began pulling mugs from the shelf.

“Thank you, that would be lovely. I think we could all do with a drink.” Carlo placed a hand on Mellissa’s back and guided her to the stairs which led up to his apartment.

As soon as they reached the relative privacy of his kitchen, Mellissa turned on Carlo.

“What the bloody hell is going on?” she asked.

“I’m surprised you don’t know,” Carlo responded. He was staring at Mellissa in that annoying way of his. Like he knew she understood more than she let on, and he was just waiting for her to reveal it. And the thing was, he was right. On the way back in the cab, it was as though a light bulb had turned on in her head as a memory of her predecessor played out in slow motion. The creature was a Mephisto, one of the Dark Ones, and it had nearly killed Bertram.

“Carlo, let’s just get a few things straight here. I’m not saying a word more until you tell me who you are and what you know. Otherwise I will leave here with Bertram and never return.”

Carlo smiled. “You are not unlike the others. All of them were stubborn, just as you are. Funny how that stubbornness seems to thread through every Soul Guide. The Elders certainly know how to choose the perfect person for the role.”

Mellissa stepped back, shocked. “You know what I am?” she said. Her mouth had suddenly gone dry.

“Well, of course I do. I’ve always known.”

“But how? Why? Who are you?” she asked again.

Carlo placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked her straight in the eye and said, “Think.”

For a moment, Mellissa just stared at Carlo. Then, like coffee percolating in a jar, a sudden memory dripped into focus. It wasn’t her memory of course, but a memory of her predecessor. Nonetheless, the truth was clear.

“Well, crap,” she said, before sitting down in a heap on the bar stool next to the kitchen island.

Carlo laughed. “Crap? I don’t think I’ve ever been described as such.”

“You know who I am?” she said again, just to be certain.

“Indeed,” he said patting her on the hand.

“So, you know who Bertram is too?”

“Si.”

“And the creature, you know what that was?”

“Of course.”

“Then why allow Bertram to go? If you knew it was there, why did you risk him, yourself? Why would you do that?” Mellissa said, her voice rising in anger.

“Hold on, Mellissa. I did not know that creature would be there. If I had known, don’t you think I would have done things differently? I would have called in help, but I still would have gone. Victor is family.”

“Help? You mean… what did the card say? The Bellator Luminis?”

“Si, the very same.”

“So, who are they?”

“They are the Warriors of Light. Victor is training to become one. They are a group of men and women enlisted for their fighting skills. They protect the innocent against creatures such as this. For many, many years they weren’t called upon. But, of late, more incidents have occurred and the Warriors have been resurrected once again.”

“How did this creature escape?”

“They have walked this Earth for many millennia, Mellissa.”

“But I thought that they were all dead?”

“Contrary to what you appear to have been told, they still roam this Earth. I am upset you’ve been informed otherwise.”

“The sisters wouldn’t lie to me,” Mellissa said, forgetting herself.

“Perhaps not, perhaps they are unaware of what has been happening on Earth? It would explain a few things. That must change now. It’s crucial that you tell the sisters about what you’ve seen today. The Elders need to know. Promise me you’ll tell them Mellissa. You’re our only link to the other side.”

Mellissa’s mouth dropped open, agog. “You know about them too?”

“Yes, I know all of it.”

“I don’t understand?”

“Mellissa, did you think you were the only one on Earth responsible for the souls? You may bring them in, but what happens to them once they are here? Who looks after them then? The sisters, they are your solace, your support. I am that to the Pure, even if they do not understand it. Why do you think they are drawn to this café? Why do you think you were? It isn’t just my delicious coffee or handsome good looks,” Carlo said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Then why the secrecy? I’ve been told I must not speak to Bertram, to anyone, about who I am, what I do, about any of it in fact. I didn’t think others knew about me, about the Veil. I don’t understand.”

“Aside from myself, no-one else on Earth knows about what you do, about the Veil and the souls within it. Only me.”

“But you said the Warriors of Light fight the Mephisto. They must know.”

“They know about the Mephisto. They know that there are far darker things in this world than the very worst human. They know of the Pure, those people who are more in tune than the general populace, and they do their best to protect them.”

“Why do they need protecting?”

“You saw what happened to Bertram. The Mephisto consume souls. They consume them to keep alive. For the most part, the Mephisto have managed to elude the Warriors. It has been quite some time since a Mephisto has revealed itself so openly. They are masters of disguise, but of late they have become reckless, greedy. It is these times the Warriors of Light get closer to destroying them.”

“I didn’t know that,” Mellissa said.

“Well, now you do. The point is, there is a logic, however skewed, for all the secrecy.”

“But it makes it hard for me, for us both. Bertram knows I am keeping things from him.”

“These secrets you keep, I do not agree with it,” he said pointedly, and Mellissa wondered whether he knew about her son. “Yet, despite that, I understand the importance behind it. You see, if either one of you were to fall into the hands of the Master, the Mephistos’ leader, then it is best that you know as little about each other as possible. He cannot get out of you what you do not know. But none of that would matter to him if he knew what you were. Believe me when I say he would most certainly use either of you as leverage. You acted on impulse today, you ran to help Bertram without thinking it through. The Master would count on such a human reaction. He would twist those feelings to get what he wanted. So, I understand only too well why there is a need to keep secrets even from those you love the most. More to the point, I understand why you have to keep your secret from Bertram.”

Mellissa dropped her head. He knew about her son. She felt him place a hand on her shoulder.

“Mellissa, I know many things. That is my gift. My other gift is the gift of silence. I cannot reveal what I’ve been trusted to keep. I am bound by that promise. No power will be able to make me speak a truth I’ve been asked to keep hidden.”

“But you’ve revealed so much. How is that possible given what you said?”

“The Warriors of Light do not need to hide behind secrecy and lies. They are well-known among our community. Besides, there is no connection to you, the souls, or to Bertram.”

“Yet, Genevieve is Pure and Victor chose not to reveal what happened despite who he’s training to become.”

“Victor adores his sister. He wants to protect her as much as he can, for as long as he can. She is still only a child.”

Mellissa caught the look on Carlo’s face. There was something he wasn’t saying. “What aren’t you telling me Carlo?”

Carlo rubbed at his eyes, the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Genevieve is special, but you know that already, don’t you?”

Mellissa remembered what Genevieve could do. The fact that she could see souls too was undoubtedly a rare gift. One she knew only too well. “Yes.”

“Other than yourself, she is the only Pure I have come across who can do what she can do. You, as the Soul Guide, have a level of protection. Your own soul is disguised from those who wish you harm. It is another reason why that creature did not know immediately who you were.”

Mellissa frowned. “Disguised how?”

“You see my soul?” Carlo asked and Mellissa nodded. “Then you see only a fraction of what it should be. Watch.”

Mellissa looked at the space around Carlo, at the soul she was so accustomed to. For a moment, it remained like the sky before dawn, just like it always had. Then, as though a shroud had been lifted, the beauty of his soul burst into life and Mellissa was assaulted with the most shocking array of colours. A layer of deep purple surrounded his body, followed by a cobalt blue, then a layer of the brightest green which fed into a yellow the sun would have trouble imitating. It was beautiful and bright and bold and utterly terrifying. His soul, his true soul, told her all she needed to know. Carlo wasn’t just a friendly barista, a kind-hearted man. He was incredibly powerful and incredibly gifted. Mellissa sucked in a breath. “My God, Carlo.”

“God has nothing to do with it. This,” Carlo said laughing, “this is all my own. Your soul, it is disguised in much the same way. The Elders made sure of it.”

“So, what does this have to do with Genevieve?” Mellissa asked.

“It was during puberty when Victor and I discovered just how special Genevieve was. Almost overnight she changed, and it soon became apparent just what she was capable of, what her gifts were. As you well know, that kind of ability comes with a price, and a target over her head.”

“You mean the Mephisto?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I mean. If Genevieve hadn’t returned here when she did, then things would have been very different right now.”

Mellissa let that information sink in. She remembered what she had asked Genevieve to do for her. She felt all the blood drain from her face. She wanted to throw up.

“Fear not Mellissa. I am gifted too remember,” he said, misunderstanding her reaction. “From now on, Genevieve will be taking her own special brew. It dampens the purity of her soul. She can hide in plain sight and live her life without fear.”

“Does she know how special she is? Does she know what you’re doing for her?”

“No, and Victor has asked me to keep it that way. This is the only secret I am happy to keep. So, you see, Mellissa. There are some things I choose to keep secret and some things I am obligated to keep secret. Do you wish for my silence?”

Mellissa didn’t hesitate. This was her son they were talking about. Of course, she did. “Yes.”

“Then I am bound by that until your soul leaves this Earth.”

Mellissa felt a rush of relief, followed quickly by worry. “But what about that creature? It was consuming Bertram’s soul. It must know who he is now? Look what I did to it… I can’t imagine there are many who can shoot beams of light out of their hand?”

Carlo laughed. “Like I said, you are not the only one with gifts Mellissa. It would’ve assumed you were a Warrior of Light. The Mephisto have crossed paths with them countless times over the years.”

“I see, and Bertram?”

“If that creature had realised just who Bertram was, none of us would be alive now. It would have returned with the Master and its kin and it would have been over. But it didn’t. You must have stopped it before it could really understand just who it had captured.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“There is no other explanation.”

Mellissa pulled on her hair. There was something worrying her. “When Bertram wakes up, he will have a lot of questions.”

“Yes, I imagine he will.”

“If what you’re saying is true, I can’t have him finding out about any of this, about my son…”

Carlo frowned. “What are you asking Mellissa?”

Mellissa swallowed the nausea she felt. “I need you to give me the Forgetting. I need to make Bertram forget.”